Dedicated to My Muse
by Hypocritical Romantic
Summary: Despite being very popular children's illustrator and author, Berwald's muse had run away. However, after moving and checking out the local library, he finds it once again. SuFin. One-shot.


**Dedicated To My Muse**

The day Tino Väinämöinen quit the corporate world was the day he was reborn again.

Waking up the day after his two-week leave notice to serene cyan skies was pure bliss. He no longer hand to rush around in his early morning routine of jumping out of bed to make his favourite brand of coffee before stumbling into the shower moments before he had to walk out of his front door. For the first time since graduating university, he was able to stop and literally smell the roses outside his window after brewing his daily coffee. The birds carried on with their pleasant chirping, oblivious to how wonderfully it rang in Tino's ears.

This was what it had felt like to be free…

This was what it had felt like to be bored.

Tino set down his steaming mug of Paulig's Juhla Mokka by the window and quickly returned to his bedroom. In record time he had changed into clothes and was out the door, pulling out of his driveway.

Not understanding why he was out, but knowing he couldn't stay in his picturesque home, the young thirty-year-old man drove throughout the city.

After weaving in and out of semi-familiar streets that made up his neighbourhood for a good half-hour, he finally found what he was subconsciously looking for: the city's primary library.

Without much hesitation, he strode through the doors, intending to find a great tome to keep him occupied, but he never found it. Instead, a crystalline giggle detained his attention.

Nestled underneath a self-help desk was a little girl, reading a grand picture book that almost swallowed her whole. She was far away from the children's section, but had managed to snag a beanbag chair away with her to make her enclosure more comfortable as she got lost in her reading.

That is, if she could read.

Tino should have left her to her queendom, yet another chortle prevented him from continuing on.

"That's quite a hiding place," he approached her, startling both himself and the little girl. "What's got you giggling like you have a secret?"

Instead of flinching away, the small child exposed what held her devotion.

"My favourite book!"

She turned the page to reveal another breathtaking illustration. Colours swirled and figures danced across the page as words below the scenic artwork encouraged the reader to discover their own wonders and magic. Each page took the character to a new adventure, a different visual stimulation, but it all flowed.

It too became Tino's favourite book.

That day, the thirty-year-old former multimillion-dollar corporate head found his way to the Children's section of the library. He was led by the little girl's hand to the colourful part of the library where a year later, he became the Children's Section Leader.

"And the dragon roared… Roooooaaaarrrr!" Tino jumped a little towards the kids circled around him to make them shrill with laughter. "…Because he couldn't find his blanket."

After five more minutes of reading to the children, Tino dismissed them to their equally entertained parents.

"You're such a great reader," one mother swooped up her two-year old son into her arms. "Isn't he, Feliks?"

"Yeah!" Blond locks bounced around him as he chorused in agreement.

"It isn't me," Tino chuckled at the compliment, "it's all of Oxenstierna's work that transforms everything."

Another mother joined in, "His work would mean nothing if the reader behind his stories didn't put as much passion into his work. You're great, Tino, just accept it!"

"You da best!" The little girl with bright emerald eyes wiggled in her mother's arms. "Wight Lars?"

The stoic toddler next to his sleeping brother's car seat nodded in agreement.

"Too bad he hasn't written another book in three years," the father the three children lifted Lars into his arms before picking up the baby's car seat. "Perhaps he's branched out into other literature. Teen's maybe? Did you know he has a few children's chapter books?"

His wife giggled and pushed her husband towards the door. "Tino already knows that! He's Oxenstierna's number one fan!"

"Really? Well that explains a few things," he chuckled along with her. "Have a good day, Tino. See you next week!"

Tino bade adieu to the last few parents before organizing the Children's area. He returned the picture book to its original place and brushed his fingers across the spines of the other books as he walked away, suppressing a longing sigh.

 **~~x. X. x.~~**

"Well Peter, w're done," the tall man released a breath he was holding. "Ya can go out and play."

"Hooray! Papa, I'm gonna go see if the neighbour kids are still out!" The young boy's energy was restored with those few words as he picked himself up from the floor and zoomed past his father. "I'll be back before the sun's down!"

A warm smiled trailed after him, then disappeared as he looked back into his study. His award winning books displayed throughout the shelves mocked him, jeering him to create something better. Unfortunately, he couldn't.

For the last three years, he had written draft after draft, yet nothing yielded any magic within them. His editor claimed had created more than enough, but his heart felt as if there was never enough. He had to create, to draw and weave the stories inside of him, but something was limiting him.

"You gotta fall in love, papa," Peter had once so casually noted after watching a Disney movie. "Then all of the magic inside of you will be released again."

Oh how he held his son that night and sprinkled kisses across his hair until the boy wiggled away.

"You're the only magic love I need," he had responded.

However Peter replied back just as quickly.

"You don't know that, but I think it might be time I get a mama."

"A mama, huh?" Berwald brought himself back to the present.

Then he chuckled.

"It'd pr'bably have to be another papa instead."

 **~~x. X. x.~~**

A few days later, Peter managed to drag his father to the library. School would begin soon enough for Peter, but he wanted to get his father out of the house before he left him alone.

At their old place, the two of them would always be out and about before his papa settled down for he night in his study to work on his books. However, about two years ago, it all stopped when Peter's real parents found him and reached out to him despite signing a closed adoption. He didn't know what they had said to his papa, but it was enough to change him.

"Whoa!" Peter ran ahead of his father, momentarily distracted by the enormous sailboat model displayed before the Children's section.

Berwald snickered. Peter may be caught in the ropes between childhood and adolescence, however his interest in boats and the sea always would excite him as if they were an endless supply of candy.

"If you think that's cool, you should let me show you the Lego model we have of the Titanic in the Teen's section!" A man with spikey blond hair grinned at the parent and child. His nametag read: "Mathias Køhler—Ask me about our HUGE movie selection!"

Berwald nodded with approval while thumbing towards the Children's section, silently informing Peter of his location.

He was perusing through the section of tween chapter books when a little girl—or was it boy?—ran through his legs with pure glee as he was chased by another little girl and a boy about a year older than the two. In his hand held one of his latest books.

His eyes followed them to a librarian (he assumed the other was a librarian due to the similar looking nametag around his neck as that Mathias character) who opened his arms to catch the child.

"I've got you Feliks!"

"Read this one! Read this one!" The boy identified as Feliks held the book high over his head as the shorter blond man walked him over to the rocking hair as the other two followed.

The man chuckled. "I read that to you two days ago."

"But it's my favourite!" The little girl placed her hands on his knees and bounced excitedly.

"It's your favourite." The other boy sat himself on a cushion in front of him.

"Tino~, we want this one!" Feliks exclaimed.

Resigning himself to his fate with another chuckle, Tino set Feliks down only to have the girl jump onto his lap. "So it's Emma's turn to be on my lap?"

Berwald though the other boy would fight the girl for the spot, but instead he made himself comfortable onto the other boy's lap.

Satisfied with the arrangement, the librarian began to read.

"Deep inside all of us is an array of colours…"

Entranced much like the children, Berwald listened and watched as the other man narrated his book. His voice swelled and tightened, matching a tone to each mixed hues on the page.

By the time the book had ended, Tino had a larger audience.

Peter and Mathias had silently materialized beside the Swedish man, also caught in awe.

Without trying to break the fragile magic still in place, Mathias whispered, "That's our Tino. Everyone loves hearing him read. Can you believe that he used to run a multimillion company?"

Berwald wanted to say, "With that voice, he could do anything," but was interrupted by the children cheering "Again! Again! Again!"

"Hahaha," the man set Emma down. "How about a different one? Don't you want a Dr. Seuss story?"

"Am I hearing correctly?" Mathias stepped around the slightly taller man in order to walk towards his fellow librarian. "Tino is offering to read something other than his favourite author's work?"

The author's heart stuttered before going into overdrive and Peter skipped forward to catch up with Mathias.

"Yeah! I want to hear! I want to hear!"

"See? You've got another fan already!" Mathias laughed at Tino's reddening face. "Actually, you've got two fans! Come on out big man."

Berwald nervously stepped forward. Although his image had never been established alongside his work, the author felt as if Tino could somehow recognize him through presence alone.

The smaller man's blush darkened as he made eye contact with Berwald. "Er thanks," he stuttered out, but then reiterated what he always said whenever he was complimented on his reading. "But it's all of Oxenstierna's work that transforms everything, really."

It was Berwald's turn to blush. Never before had he been praised so highly. No combination of awards could out due what the other had just said.

"I think it's both!" Peter grinned at Tino then Berwald. "Right, papa?"

He meant to look down at his son, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the other's light violet eyes.

"Mm, but I think the reader… the narrator…" he couldn't put his thoughts to words. They sloshed together and crumbled under Tino's gaze. "You read it _beautifully_." He let out a breathy sigh.

Mathias began to feel uncomfortable, but the children and Peter were under similar trances as the adults. They could feel the static, the aura, the magic between the two.

"Is that how you wanted your story to be read, papa?" Peter murmured, not wanting to break the spell between the two.

"It's better than I could have ever imagined."

The other librarian caught on. "Wait! You mean you're the author? You're Berwald Oxenstierna?!"

"Whoa!" The toddlers rushed forward to tug at the other man's trousers. "You made these stories, mister?"

"I love your stories, Mr. O!"

"Tino loves your stories."

"Can I hab your autobaff, mister?"

"So you do like Tino's reading?"

Berwald finally looked away from Tino and down towards the children, afraid that he'd faint if he continued their intimate stare much longer.

"Yeah," he grinned, "I loved it."

The children moved away from the author and towards the narrator. "Yay! See? Mr. O wants you to read more!"

"But! But! I mean, Mr. O's just being nice." Tino couldn't look back up despite how much he wanted to look back into those clear ocean blue eyes.

"Just one more, please? For papa?" Peter clasped his hands.

Slowly, Tino dared to look back at his beloved author and was met with the warmest encouragement he had ever felt.

He reluctantly agreed to it, but not without panicking ever few seconds on whether his voice would let him down and crack. Fortunately, it never happened because he narrated each page with memorized precision. And just like every time he read, he became lost in the world Berwald created, allowing others to slip into a different world along with him.

Tino read all of the picture books until the children's parents had come and gone with them in tow. He continued reading as two other librarians (sent out to find Mathias) joined the audience. The Children's Leader only stopped when the library announced its closure over the intercom.

"Thank you, Tino." Berwald cracked another smile. It almost hurt with how much he moved his lips upward, but it never hurt when he'd look at Tino. "You've paid me the biggest compliment."

"Th-thank you! You're my favourite author!"

Again, they became caught in each other's orbit until one of the other librarians coughed out, "Then get his autograph."

"And his number," the Mathias harshly whispered. "Oof! What?!"

And Berwald did just that.

Tino gained a date with his favourite author and Berwald's muse returned.

Thus, it was no surprise that on his next book, on the first page, it read: Dedicated to my muse. I love you Tino. I love you Peter.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I made this for mi best friend because she's always writing the cutest, bestest stories for me! Thank you Silly Kwado! XD**

 **I'll try to make this better when it's not 3:30am.**


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